2008.12.22

Just the Thing for a Cold: 'Oregano', Tea, and Turmeric

I brought a whopper of a cold home from Vietnam. This seems to be par for the course when we're traveling and cramming a lot of work into a relatively short space of time. It might also have had something to do with the fact that we arrived in Hoi An unprepared for cool weather and lots of rain. Lacking a rain coat - or any warm clothing, for that matter - I spent the better part of 5 days in a locally-purchased rain poncho that resembled a garbage bag with sleeves. (Dave assured me that if I wore the same in San Francisco it would quickly become must-have wet weather garb for the city's fashion divas. Ahem. Nice try, Dave.)

When my cold started to rear its ugly head I wished for something I was drinking quite a lot of exactly a year ago, while battling an even nastier cold while on assignment in Pampanga, Philippines. When a string of early mornings (as in 3am, for dawn mass) and non-stop days lay me low the kitchen angels at our host's home boiled up batch after batch of tea made with an herb growing wild outside the house. They called it 'oregano' (pictured below, and above - same name, two different leaves - two varieties, perhaps?). It eased my sore throat, cough, and general feeling of unwellness.

This 'oregano' is actually Indian borage (Plectranthus barbatus), a fuzzy, fleshy-leafed herb thought to be native to India that's also found in Australia, where it's known as five-in-one (thanks to once-prolific EatingAsia commenter RST for this link and others related to the herb). In India the tuberous roots are also used as a spice or prepared as a pickle.

And Indian borage is found in Vietnam, where it's known as hung chanh, tan la day, and thom long. We first noticed it at a Hue/Hoi An market in Saigon; the vendor told us that it's not for eating, but for boiling into tea when you have a sore throat or cough. According to the link above it also grows wild in Malaysia, where it's known as daun bangun-bangun. We've not seen it in the market here, yet.

The herb smells a bit like Italian or Greek oregano but, to my nose, even more like sage or thyme. In Pampanga I asked if the herb was used for cooking; the response was 'no'. Yet something called 'oregano' is perhaps part of a dried herb mix called sangkot-sangkot that's added to a Philippine stewed meat dish called apritada.

According to that link above Indian borage is added to fish or goat meat curries in Malaysia and on Java (thus one of its Indonesian names - daun kambing or 'goat leaf') and, according to my Vietnamese herb book, there '...young leaves are cut into small pieces to enhance fish or meat as a seasoning before cooking'. (A similarly fuzzy, fleshy, and odiferous leaf, the name of which escapes me at the moment, is cooked with dog in Vietnam to mitigate that meat's distinctive odor.)

Intriguingly, the herb is also used in cooking in Cuba and the Caribbean, where it goes by the name of 'Cuban oregano' or 'French oregano'. In this 2005 Miami Herald article chef and cookbook author Maricel Presilla writes that the plant made its way to Latin America during colonial times. Which begs the question - from where and via whom? From the Philippines with the Spanish? Or from southern India or Malaysia/Indonesia with the Portuguese? Or...? And how did the herb find its way to Vietnam?

Filipinos, Australians, Indians, Malaysians, Vietnamese - anyone familiar with this herb - do you cook with it? And if so, how do you use it?

But back to Hoi An. I searched for Indian borage tea in vain but I did find, bubbling away over a wood fire in a corner near the seafood section, a vat of che tuoi, or 'fresh tea'. The leaves used for this tea are indeed unfermented and, from the looks of it, pretty old.

Branches, berries, leaves - everything goes into the pot and the vendor, who's been pouring cups of che tuoi in the market for over thirty years, gives it all a good boil for a couple hours. This isn't meant as specifically a cold remedy but its slightly bitter, grassy flavor and warmth was most welcome on our misty Hoi An mornings.

My cold, by the way, is pretty much vanquished, and in just over ten days. That's a record for me; these things usually seem to hang on for weeks. I don't know whether to attribute my quick recovery to che tuoi, thoughts of oregano tea, the handfuls of vitamin C tablets I began swallowing at regular intervals as soon as my symptoms appeared .... or candied turmeric.

Candied turmeric is sold alongside candied ginger all over Hoi An's market. Before I even got sick a vendor told me it's good for a cough and sore throat. I bolted at least a half a bag at the first sign of a sore throat and then continued to snack on the astringent treat for a few more days.

Comments

Indian borage is indeed magical for colds, as almost all Asians know. Recently, I'd been fighting severe congestion with Western expectorants, then happened to find some of this herb in the Kota Kinabalu market. I brewed it up with water and rock sugar and sipped it day and night. The second day, my congestion was gone!

As this herb strongly resembles oregano, yet costs a fraction of that herb, it is widely used by food manufacturers for an oregano flavour.

As I remember daun bangun-bangun is very popular in North Sumatra culinary. It's easy to get in Jakarta as well, especially wet markets that are closed to Tapanuli people areas. It's believed to help mothers who give breast feeding to their baby.

As I remember daun bangun-bangun is very popular in North Sumatra culinary. It's easy to get in Jakarta as well, especially wet markets that are closed to Tapanuli people areas. It's believed to help mothers who give breast feeding to their baby.

hi there. in the philippines, this herb is commonly called oregano and usually used for treating coughs, either boiled as a tea or juice squeezed from fresh leaves, taken by teaspoons like ordinary cough medicines. it is also used to clean offals of meats, to remove odor prior to cooking.

I've been drinking a glass of warm/room temp water with a tablespoonful of pure honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon powder on a regular basis for 2 years, and have found that it's extremely good for nasty cold as well. My cold is usually gone within 3 days.

My mother used to lightly roast these on a griddle, blend it coarsely and make a raita with yogurt, salt, roast cummin powder, paprika, finely chopped green chillies and coriander. Funny thing is we didn't know the exact Indian name either, because this was grown by one of our cooks.

This is called omavalli in Tamil. We have always had this in our garden in Singapore. My mother boils this along with ginger, holy basil and a medicinal herb called Mochi that smells like eucalyptus to give to us to drink when we have colds. It is supposed to clear the phelgm that congests chests. We have never used it for cooking though.

This is called omavalli in Tamil. We have always had this in our garden in Singapore. My mother boils this along with ginger, holy basil and a medicinal herb called Mochi that smells like eucalyptus to give to us to drink when we have colds. It is supposed to clear the phelgm that congests chests. We have never used it for cooking though.

This is called omavalli in Tamil. We have always had this in our garden in Singapore. My mother boils this along with ginger, holy basil and a medicinal herb called Mochi that smells like eucalyptus to give to us to drink when we have colds. It is supposed to clear the phelgm that congests chests. We have never used it for cooking though.

oh and btw, we use oregano for many of the traditional dishes of mexican cuisine, never knew it was good for a cold. We prepare a tea as a remedy against stomach pain.( Specially good to fight PMS cramps!!)

This herb is most powerful when eatern fresh - you can eithr chew it or just juice it and drink up the juice. It is called Omavalli and one stalk in a plater or garden is enough to create a patch in a year! Thrives in tropical weather!

Love your articles! During 1565-1815, saliors of the Manila Galleons were responsible for bringing several tropical fruits and plants into the New World. Likewise, several New World species made their way into the Philippines where they spread to other parts of Asia. Oregano may have been one of those transported herbs.

When I had a scratchy throat back in the Philippines, my friend took an Oregano leaf, poured some honey on it, and popped it in my mouth. That was a treat! :-D

I know this is an old post, but I'll go ahead and add that in Guyana (South America) where I was born, this "oregano" is known as thick-leaf thyme or broad-leaf thyme. It is used as a seasoning - chopped or ground, or for tea. It is particularly good as a seasoning for fish or in fish broths. It also blends well with other traditional seasonings like onion and garlic. I usually chop it all up together in a food processor and I really like the melded flavor.
I have also seen a white edged version of it referred to online as tropical oregano. It is also edible. My aunt has some in her garden as a decorative plant and it smells the same, but I haven't tried to cook it yet.
I'll add that thick-leaf thyme, as I call it, is extremely hardy in a tropical environment. We always have a plant in our yard, wherever we live, and usually all this involves is cutting off a sprig from an old plant, sticking it in the ground and watering it for the first few days. After that, we don't even need to water it. It survives on rain and grows profusely. A couple years ago I tried to trim our current plant back and discarded the trimmings by tossing them into a corner of the yard. I looked over a couple weeks later and realised that the trimmings had all taken root and we had a whole set of the plants growing over there too!

Hello When a string of early mornings (as in 3am, for dawn mass) and non-stop days lay me low the kitchen angels at our host's home boiled up batch after batch of tea made with an herb growing wild outside the house.
John B. Barnhart